7 Things I Wish I Knew Before Having Twins

Having one child is one thing, having two at one time, is, well, another thing completely. Double the diapers, double the feedings, double the love. While it’s impossible to truly prepare for the arrival of twins, we asked our latest #badassmom Ashley Knies to share any advice or wisdom she’s gained since having her adorable twin girls. And if you have anything to add, please share in the comments below!

Don’t over pack when going to the hospital. I brought a mini van filled to the brim with stuff and it was such a hassle to unload and load considering I used almost none of it.

Don’t forget your pumping bra. I didn’t realize that I would be put on such an intense breastfeeding and pumping schedule right away and it would have been nice to have my hands free when pumping in the hospital.

It gets better. As a first time parent of twins, I didn’t know this. I thought that the first few months were the way it would be from here on out; parenting would always be exhausting with very little rewards. I’ve met a few parents of singletons who say that there are always challenges, it’s just that the challenges change. This is not the case for twins. There’s is nothing more challenging than having newborn twins, which is why “it gets better” became my mantra.

Get dressed and go outside every day.

Sometimes you just have to wear earplugs. Juna and Sunny are technically sleep trained but every once in awhile they wake up in the night crying. It’s so tempting to go into their bedroom and nurse them back to sleep but after months of sleepless nights, I accept that if they’re healthy and not teething, they are capable of putting themselves back to sleep. Hearing them cry kills me so I have resorted to earplugs and I can tell you that we’re all sleeping better because of it.

Eight months is a game changer. It was this milestone that it actually “got better” for me. They smile, giggle, play, wave, babble, hug, hold hands, and explore. I spend all day/every day with them and once they hit this age, even though they don’t talk, I started to feel like we can communicate.

With that being said, now that they’re adorable and loving 10-month olds, I’m trying to live by the words of this silly but very wise poem.